Artist&#39;s palette and attachments.



PATENTED JULY 19, 1904.

T. S. FOX. ARTISTS PALETTE AND ATTACHMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented July 19, 1901.

PATENT OEEIcE.

ARTISTS PALETTE AND ATTACHMENTS- SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 765,336, dated July 19, 1904.

Application filed May 23,1903. Serial No. 158,401- (No model.)

T0 all whom, it nway concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. Fox, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Artists Palettes andAttach- .ments Therefor, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partthereof.

My invention relates to improvements in I artists palettes andattachments therefor, and

particularly to a means whereby certain quickdrying materials may beprevented from hardening upon the palette andmay be'kept in a moist andworkable condition until they are finally used.

Certain materials, including various colors-blacks, whites, &c.-such asare put up in color-tubes for artists use, harden very quickly and oncedried are practically insoluble in water at atmospheric temperatures.For instance, shellac is not soluble in water ordinarily, but in certainproportions boiled with borax in water the whole mass remains in a fluidor semifluid conditionuntil the water evaporates. hen the mixture of theabove is ground with a pigment to form a paint and spread for use upon apalette of ordinary construction, a film or scum will quickly form uponthe exposed surface, which is practically insoluble in water at ordinarytemperatures and which will not only interfere greatly with the free useof the brush, but will also result in a great waste of material. Thisvery feature of insolubility in water of such color mixture is, however,exceedingly valuable in certain methods of painting, and the main objectof this present invention is to provide a palette which will prevent arapid drying and waste of material and be simple and compact in form andadapted for use for the various different forms of artists colors put upin tubes.

To these ends my invention consists, first, in the employment of areservoir upon the upper side of a palette, such reservoir having aninlet-opening adapted to receive the threaded end of an artistscolor-tube and adischargeopening provided with a movable cut-off, in

the provision of a plurality of such devices and a separate cap or coverfor each, in the provision of a hinged portion or extension to thepalette proper for supporting the reservoirs and color-tubes whereby thesame may be closed up for economy of space, in the provision of anabsorbent surface in combination with a rigid backing for the paletteproper, in the provision of a pad of absorbent material between theabsorbent surface and the rigid backing, in a shallow tray adapted toretain fluid in or the palette as a whole may be arranged so thatleakage of moisture away from the pad or absorbent surface may beprevented, and in certain details of construction and combination ofparts, as will hereinafter appear.

which the absorbent material 3 I will now proceed to describe myinvenervoirs connected to a hinged portion or extension of the paletteproper. Fig. 2 is a view in central transverse section therethrough,with the hinged top or cover shown in side elevation. Fig. 3 shows atransverse sectional view through the same with the hinged portion ofthe palette closed down and the top orcover of the tray also in closedposition.

Fig. 4 is a detail front view of one of the reservoirs with a color-tubeconnected thereto, showing also a portion of the palette in transversesection. Fig. 5 is a view in vertical transverse section of thereservoir. taken at right angles to Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail view inperspective of a tray supporting a pad and absorbent facing, the trayitself forming the rigid palette-backing. Fig. 7 shows a detail View insection of a form of pad employed having a wire-mesh support.

In caring for the class of material proposed to be used upon my improvedpalette I aim, first, to prevent undue exposure of more material than isabsolutely necessary, and particularly to avoid the drying out of thematcrial in the neck of the tube, and, second, to maintain the materialupon the palette proper in a moist condition until it is finally used.To attain the former, I provide a reservoir upon the upper side of thepalette, which is adapted to receive the threaded end of the color-tubeand which is provided with a discharge-opening having a movable cut-off,so that after a certain quantity has been discharged through the openingthe cut-off may close same and prevent evaporation of the moisture fromany portion of the material not discharged. To attain the latter, Iprovide an absorbent surface to the palette and maintain the same in amoist condition.

In the present embodiment of my invention I have provided a palettecomprising a portion a, which I term the palette proper, and a portionZ), which is an extension thereof and hinged to the main portion bymeans of hinges c. The portion 6 carries a plurality of color-reservoirs(Z and serves as a means for attaching them to the palette proper. Saidreservoirs are each provided with a dischargeopening 0 and areceiving-opening f, internally screw-threaded to receive theexternallyscrew-threaded neck of a color-tube g, such as is ordinarilyemployed by artists at the present day. A movable cut-ofi' Z2, isprovided for the discharge-opening, such being shown in the presentinstance in the form of a pivoted gate, but which may be of anyconvenient form and construction. j

When a color-tube is fitted to the receiving-opening of thecolor-reservoir and the cut-oil h is open, material may be forced fromthe said tube out through the dischargeopening 0 onto the palette, andwhen a sufiicient quantity is so forced out the cut-off may be closedover the discharge-opening, so that only the material actually on thepalette will be exposed to the air and liable to evaporation.

Each individual color-reservoir is provided with an individual cap orcover '11, adapted to entirely inclose the reservoir and color-tube, sothat when an individual color is not em ployed its tube and reservoirmay have the additional protection of the cap to prevent access of airthereto. The ends of the caps or covers 2' may conveniently be receivedin grooves q in the portion Z), arranged to receive them. The extendedportion Z) of the palette being hinged to the main portion may be swungaround so as to close the parts up into compact form, as shown in Fig.3.

I provide an absorbent facing for the color when spread upon thepalette, which for purposes of cleaning and other convenience Iremovably attach to a rigid backing. The absorbent facing mayconveniently be comprised in a sheet of chamois-skin which may bemaintained in position upon the rigid backing Zr) by means of clasps por in any other suitable manner, as may be desired. A single sheet ofchamois-skin may not always be sufiicient to retain enough moisture, andhence I may provide several sheets therefor, or I may provide a separatepad under the Chamois-skin facing and the rigid backing, composed ofasbestos or other suitable material, as shown at Z in the drawings, andin order to prevent this asbestos pad from becoming disturbed or dis-,arranged I may employ a wire-mesh screen on, within which it may beinclosed.

The whole palette may conveniently be received within a shallow tray n,so that surplus moisture from the absorbent material j or the pad Z willnot run away nor will the device wet or soil the support upon which itis temporarily placed. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 I have shown the tray asprovided with a hinged top 0, so that the whole device may be closed upinto an exceedingly compact form.

If desired, the rigid backing of the palette proper may itself beconstructed in the form of a shallow tray, as is illustrated in detailin Fig. 6, the bottom of the tray constituting the rigid backing for theabsorbent material I placed thereabove. In such case the sides may besufficient to retain the absorbent material in place without recourse tomechanical appliances, such as the clasps It will be obvious that theforegoing is but one embodiment of my invention and that the same iscapable of many and varied modifications within the spirit and scope ofmy invention, and, further, that certain parts may be employed inconnection with other parts of difi'erent construction. Hence I do notdesire to be limited only to the precise details of construction 'andcombination of parts herein.

WV hat I claim is- 1. A palette comprising a main portion and anextension hinged thereto, the said extension provided with means forreceiving the threaded end of a color-tube.

2. A palette comprising a main portion and an'extension hinged thereto,the said extension provided with a color-reservoir havingadischarge-opening and an opening for receiving a color-tube.

3. A palette comprising a main portion and an extension hinged thereto,the said extension provided with a color-reservoir having adischarge-opening in its side wall and a screwthreaded opening in itsupper end for receiving a color-tube.

4:. In a palette attachment the combination with a color-reservoirhaving means for attachment to a palette and having an opening above itsbase and above the point of attachment to the palette for receiving acolor-tube,

and having also a discharge-opening, of a movable cut-off for closingthe said dischargeopening.

5. In a palette attachment, the combination with a color-reservoirhaving means for attachment to a palette and having a dischargeopeningin its side Wall, and an opening in its upper end for receiving acolor-tube, of means carried by the reservoir for closing the saiddischarge-opening.

6. In a palette attachment, the combination with a color-reservoirhaving means for attachment to a palette and having a dischargeopeningin its side wall, and a screw-threaded opening in its upper end forreceiving a colortube, of a movable cut-off for closing the saiddischarge-opening.

7 The combination with apalette, ofa colorreservoir thereon, having adischarge-opening in its side wall, and a receiving-opening in its upperend; and a movable cut-off for said discharge-opening.

8. The combination with a palette, of a colorreservoir thereon, having adischarge-opening in its side wall, and a screw-threaded opening in itsupper end to receive the screwthreaded head of a color-tube; and amovable cut-off for said discharge-opening.

9. In a palette attachment the combination with a color-reservoir havingan opening for receiving a color-tube and having a dischargeopening, ofa cap or cover arranged to completely inclose the said reservoir and thecolortube, when secured in position therewith.

10; The combination with a palette of a colorreservoir thereon having anopening for receiving a color-tube and a discharge-opening,

of a cap or cover fitted thereto and arranged to completely inclose thesaid reservoir and the color-tube, when secured in position therewith.

11. The combination with a palette of a plurality of color-reservoirs,each having a discharge-opening and a screw-threaded opening forreceiving a color-tube, and each provided with a movable cut-off, of aplurality of individual caps or covers each arranged to completelyinclose a single reservoir and its respective color-tube.

12. An artists palette comprising a rigid backing, of substantiallynon-absorbent material, and a facing of chamois-skin removably securedthereto.

13. In an artists palette, the combination with a rigid andsubstantially non-absorbent backing, of a facing composed ofchamois-skin, and means removably retaining said facing in position uponsaid backing.

14. In an artists palette, the combination with a rigid andsubstantially non-absorbent backing, of 21 facing composed of absorbentmaterial and an asbestos pad arranged between said absorbent facing andsaid rigid backing, said pad and facing removably supported in positionupon said backing.

15. In an artists palette, the combination with a rigid andsubstantially non-absorbent backing, of a facing composed ofchamois-skin and an asbestos pad betweeen said facing and said backing,said facing and said pad removably supported upon said backing.

16. In an artists palette, the combination with a rigid andsubstantially non-absorbent backing, of a facing composed of absorbentmaterial, an asbestos pad between said facing and said backing, andaperforated metallic screen inclosing said asbestos pad.

17.- The combination with a tray adapted to hold liquid, of apalette-facing composed of chamois-skin removably supported within saidtray. 7

18. The combination with a tray adapted to hold liquid, of apalette-facing composed of chamois-skin, and an absorbent pad betweensaid chamois-skinand said tray, said chamoisskin and said in said tray.7

19. The combination with a tray adapted to hold liquid, of apalette-facing composed of chamois-skin and an asbestos pad between saidChamois-skin and said tray, said chamois-skin and said pad removablysupported within said tray.

20. The combination with a tray adapted to hold liquid, of a rigid andsubstantially nonabsorbent palette-backing remo vabl y supportedtherein, and a palette-facing composed of absorbent material removablysupported upon said rigid backing.

THOMAS S. FOX. Witnesses:

C. F. GARRINGTON, A. J. MoL'rnR.

pad removably supported with-

